In a typical oil well, the oil, gas, water, and solids are produced at the wellhead and then separated. The oil, gas, and usable amounts of water are sent for sale or reuse. The solids, which may include solids such as fracing proppants (e.g., frac sand), are sent to a solids tank for recovery.
In many instances, the amount of solids being output from a given well or group of wells must be monitored. Current methods are based on rough estimates made by personnel observing the output being discharged into the tank. And while it would be advantageous to provide a more accurate and efficient method of determining the amount of solids being produced by a well, the nature of wellhead operations presents some significant challenges for achieving that goal. For example, the solids-bearing water is typically produced under pressure and is therefore discharged it at a high velocity.